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SXSW Core Conversation: How LA Has Built A Sucessful Tech Community

Posted by Sloane Berrent in Events, Supporting Online and Offline Communities, Tech, Technology for Social Good on March 11, 2009 | View Comments

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Headed to SXSW 2009 this week? It seems like just about everyone is. Yes there are other conferences throughout the year, but nothing compares to South by Southwest. It’s three parts, Interactive, Film and Music all take over the city of Austin for a 10-day extravaganza featuring panels, talks, keynotes, book signings, screenings, live music, happy hours, networking and parties. This is my second year attending and last year I left and said to myself that I wanted to come back and be a speaker. I am really excited to be sharing the stage with Andrew Warner of Mixergy for How LA Has Built A Sucessful Tech Community where we’ll be discussing:

Los Angeles has become a hub for tech startups with new ones popping up every day. Relationships are being formed and VCs are paying attention. Universities are showcasing developer opportunities unique to the city. So how did this happen? Welcome to networking 2.0. From Lunch 2.0 to Interactive Community Coalitions, BarCamp to Twiistup, LA is a great case study of how to build a successful tech community in your city. Join the organizers of the city’s most popular networking events for tips, advice, the how to’s and what-not-to-do’s to make your city’s community pop.

Core Conversations are slightly different from panels. Instead of five people on stage all talking amongst themselves, a Core Conversation features one to two people on stage and start the discussion but then it opens up to the entire audience to participate. Our Conversation was featured in the LA Weekly’s “Ultimate Guide to SXSW Interactive” guide as well as on LaLaWag.com. I’ve posted it in both the SXSW PBwiki and the LA PBwiki to help highlight the event and also ask for feedback ahead of time from the community addressing the three following questions:

1) What was important in the initial growth of the LA Tech community?

2) What helped it thrive? What was the tipping point where you thought – “They might have something here.”

3) What is needed to sustain the community? Can what we did in LA be replicated anywhere?

Details:

Room Hilton E

Saturday, March 14th

5:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Hope to see you there! Come say hi and if you’re not already, follow me on twitter (@sloane) for updates on ALL THINGS SXSW while I’m in Austin.

Also Related:
  • SXSW Recap from 2009
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  • Come Hear Me Speak @Net2NO Tonight

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    • As someone not living stateside but very much involved in the tech world, SXSW sometimes makes me feel very much like an outsider looking in.

      *sniff* ;)

      From what I've seen and heard it looks like it was a good one this year though.
    • Sloane Berrent
      I agree with all of these comments. Part of a community is having the conversation about community and that is a huge part of what is going on at SXSW. The LA representation is a tried and true testament to how much the community has grown and how much we support each other's endeavors.
    • Rob
      I grew up in the bay area, was sorta involved in the tech scene. Went to the first techcrunch parties, hung out at the facebook office with Zuckerberg and was at Matt's apartment for a wordpress release hangout.

      While all of those ventures turned out to be very successful, there were lots that turned out to be nothing. Most of the talk was about doing something just do be famous, not to create a company/venture with meaning.

      Even though fake boobs and leased BMWs are the norm in SoCal, the limited LA tech hangouts I have been to have been filled with people out to make great companies and are doing something worthwhile.
      Like Andrew has said, everyone is there to help.
      Socal tech scene is just getting started.
    • Nice to get some LA rep down in Austin. Have fun!
    • Thanks for spotlighting this community. I hope every city gets a community like this.

      To give you a sense of how generous and helping everyone is, here's just what *I* got from the people here:

      * I had wordpress issues on my site and @boogah helped.

      * I wanted to organize live panels and @NicoleJordan volunteered to speak.

      * I set an intention to speak at conferences and you, @Sloane, got me to SXSW.
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